Family says goodbye to missing trail runner Kalie McCrystal on the Matterhorn

The family of trail runner Kalie McCrystal, who has disappeared on the Matterhorn since the beginning of September, said goodbye to the 38-year-old in an emotional statement. "Despite Kalie's exceptional skill and experience in technical mountain terrain - including her previous experiences on the Matterhorn itself - everything we currently know indicates that she fell on the descent," mother Wendy Cooper and sister Jody McCrystal wrote on Instagram. She has not yet been found, they said.

The Canadian sent her last sign of life on September 1st. The photo shows McCrystal, considered one of the best trail runners in the world, on the Italian side of the Matterhorn, above 3,800 meters. She wanted to set a new best time for the record books and run up the Lion Ridge, which leads from the valley town of Cervinia to the summit, in under five hours.

McCrystal had apparently been seen at 4200 meters

Previously, McCrystal set off on a training tour over the Lion Ridge. She probably wanted to familiarize herself with the terrain again before her planned record run. What exactly happened next is still unclear. According to media reports, she was seen above Pic Tyndall at more than 4,200 meters on the afternoon of September 1st.

Since this last sighting high up on the mountain, there has been no sign of the trail runner and rescue teams have been looking for the athlete. Nevertheless, neither McCrystal nor a clear indication of her whereabouts could be found, as the portal “Alpin.de” reported. The large-scale search was finally stopped.